Beneficial Small-Business Alliances

Beneficial Small-Business Alliances.

We have always been told that two are better than one. And this is exactly what happens when we form an alliance with the right people or companies. It brings us better resources in talent, experience, finances and infrastructure from two different entities, leading to more effective problem solving. Reaching to new markets that is enabled through sharing and leveraging resources in a collaboration, increases and re-energizes the connection you have with established customers. It makes your firm a bigger part of the greater whole, and that there is power in that.

Reciprocation

It is a natural response of most people to pay back gifts, favours, benefits, and resources that we receive from others. If someone benefits us, we like to benefit them in return. As a social force, reciprocation is one of the primary psychological tendencies that underlie human cooperation. The “you scratch my back and I scratch yours” instinct is extremely powerful and forms the foundation of friendships and alliances.

The desire to reciprocate is not necessarily in proportion to benefit provided, however, it is like a common gesture of hospitality. When a small business constantly keeps coming up with offers for the customers, customers feel a psychological need to reciprocate, by continuing to buy from the same place.

The more value you can provide to others upfront, the more receptive they will be when it is time for your pitch. Providing free value builds your social capital, making it more likely for people who benefit from you to reciprocate when you make an offer down the road. Being generous is one of the best things you can do to improve income. Helping others and offering as much value for the customer’s money as you can, will gain respect for the business. It will build a good reputation and will also increase the probability of returning customers.

Reactivation

Sales is the process of convincing prospects to become customers. Winning new customers however is often costly and time intensive. What if there was another way to bring in more revenue at very little additional cost? Reactivation is the process of convincing past customers to buy from you again. If you have been in business for a while, you already have some lapsed customers. These are people who have already purchased from you but haven’t purchased in quite some time. You know they are interested in what you have to offer, and you probably already have their contact information. Try to present them with a new offer to make them active customers once again.

Reactivation is typically a quicker, smaller and more effective approach to increase revenue, as compared to attracting new customers. Your old customers already know and trust you and they are aware of the value you provide. You have their information, you don’t have to find them. Your cost of customer acquisition, a component of allowable acquisition cost is extremely low. All you have to do is contact them and present an attractive offer. Reactivation is much simpler if you have information from your customers to follow up. Your list of prospective customers is a valuable asset. By obtaining permission from your customers to follow up with them, you increase the probability of reactivation if they, for whatever reason, stop buying from you. Most point-of-sales systems keep track of customer’s data, time and place where the sale was made. It’s relatively simple to extract the list of customers who haven’t purchased from you in a while, then present them with a reactivation offer directly through e mail, phone call, or postal mail. Reactivation campaigns are consistently the easiest and most profitable marketing activities you will ever try. Make it a priority every three to six months to contact your lapsed customers with another offer to see if you can make them buy from you again and you will be amazed by the results.

It is good to contact a local advertising company to understand the importance of social networking and see how you can benefit from networking. We have a free one hour session at HyperEffects for aspiring young entrepreneurs and those who have been there and done that. It is our way to promotes more intimate networking sessions. Enrol today to talk to us and discuss challenges that your business faces in terms of marketing, advertising and connecting with the target audience. We pride ourselves in knowing how to overcome them!